Method of separating the solid constituents from the liquid constituents of fats or fatty substances.



F. WINTERSTEIN & S. NITSOH. METHOD OF SBPARATING THE SOLID GONSTITUENTS FROM THE LIQUID GONSTITUBNTS 0F FATS 0R FATTY SUBSTANCES.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.19, 1908.

1,020,673, Patented Mar. 19,1912.

mm d WMWW/ ZZTMW W WWI/00% 1 W 0 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRITZ WINTERSTEIN AND STANISLAUS NITSOH, OF PRESSBURG, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.

METHOD OF SEPARATIN G THE SOLID CONSTITUEN'IS FROM THE LIQUID CONSTITUENTS OF FATS OR FATTY SUBSTANCES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 19, 1912.

Applicationfiled October 19, 1908. Serial No. 458,493.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRITZ WINTER- STEIN and STANIsLAUs NI'rscH, both subjects of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, and residents both of Pressburg, in the Empire of Austria-Hungary, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Separating the Solid Constituents from the Liquid Constituents of Fats or Fatty Substances; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will en- 'able others skilled in the art to which it appertains tr make and use the same.

In sundry processes employed in several branches of industry mixtures are frequently obtained that are composed of solid and liquid fats or fatty substances. and in such cases it is diilicult to separate the solid and liquid ingredients. This separation has heretofore been effected, for instance in the mineral oil industry, in such a manner that the mixture was subjected to a low temperature in consequence of'which certain constitutent parts became solidified, and the liquid parts could only be eliminated by suction or by pressure, whereupon the solid ingredients could only be freed from the remainders of oil by very high pressure, or by allowing the oil to sweat out.

A known process for solidifying parafiin consists in atomizingthe liquid paraflin by means of a current of air, and in this atomized condition the liquid paraffin is intimately mixed with water under pressure,

preferably admitted in the shape of a jet.

During this operation it is obvious that a separation of the solid and liquid constituents of the material does not take place, out the Whole mixture is merely converted into a solid by bringing it into contact, in a finely divided state, with water of considerably lower temperature. In contradistinction to this known process the method according to the present invention consists in decomposing the fatty mixture, and in separating the liquid constituents of the same from the solid parts. This is effected by mixing the molten fatty mixture with water having a temperature that is only a little lower than the congealing point of the mixture. During this operation the whole mass treated is not solidified, as is the case with the known process above referred to, but only those constituent parts of the mass that possess a higher congealing point are converted into a solid condition, whereas the other parts remain in a liquid condition and are eliminated with the water. In this manner crystals which have a higher congealing point than the primary material are submitted to the described operation over and over again, until a product is obtained having the desired congealing point.

The temperature to which the primary material and the water should be brought before their mixing, and also the percent-- ages of the water and 'pnimary material, are varied according to the nature and condition of the primary substance, and should always be determined experimentally.

For practically carrying out our process the procedure is as follows :Into the exterior tube of a device arranged after the manner of a burner having a well known form of sprayer, is fed the hot, liquid, fatty mixture, and into the exterior tube is fed the water having a lower temperature than the fatty mixture. The nozzle opens into a vessel in which, in consequence of the intimate mixture with water, and of the sudden cooling, a decomposition of the fatty mixture and a separation of the liquid and solid constituents takes place.

' The following example illustrates the application of our process to the thick liquid masses which are obtained in the treatment of paraffin oil after a great part of the oil has been eliminated by means of filter presses from the paraffin oil cooled by means of brine. The mass remaining in the presses, which congeals at a temperature of 40 0., is heated to 65 C. and is mixed with such a quantity of water of 25 C. that the mixture attains a temperature of 29 C. On the bottom of the vessel water accumulates, and above the same the oil that has a congealing point of 28 C. accumulates; and after the water and the oil have been drained off a mass remains that solidifies at a temperature of 44 C. In this manner a raising of the congealing point has taken place. If now, the product that solidifies at 44 C. again submitted to the process above described. the congealing point is once more raised, and by repeating the described operations several times, over and over again. paraffin can be obtained that has a predetermined congealing point and is entirely free from any fatty admixtures.

' and the process can the receptacle.

The described process as compared with the processes known hitherto, presents the advantages that the working expenses are considerably lower and thata saving in apparatus and material is realized, the expensive cooling machinery, hydraulic presses, pressing cloths and the like being done away with. I

In an analogous manner as indicated in the above example for the treatment of parafiin, the process according to the present invention can be applied to the separat on of mixtures of stearic acid with oleic acid,

enerally be employed for the separation 0% any mixtures whatever of fatty substances into their solid and liquid constituents.

The accompanying drawing illustrates diagrammatically an apparatus for carrying out the aforesaid process.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section, Fig. 2 a cross section, and Fig. 3 a plan of the apparatus.

solidified masses r'emainingin the receptacle after the oil and the water have been drained ofi, so as to reduce those masses to a liquid condition. The molten mass is then again submitted to the operation described.

WVe claim- 1. The process of separating the constituents of fats and fatty mixtures, which consists in melting the material to be separated and producing a spray of said material by means of a water jet whose temperature is slightly below the congealing temperature of the constituent having the highest solidification point while above that of the others, thereby congealing a portion of the material and maintaining the remainder molten and separating the molten and, solid constituents.

2. The process of separating the constituents of fats and fatty substances, particularly paraffin from its mixtures, which con-,

sists in melting the material and discharging a jet thereof simultaneously with a concentric jet of water whose temperature is between the melting points of the constituents of the molten material to be separated.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention, we have signed our names in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRITZ WINTERSTEIN. STANI SLAUS NITSCH.

Witnesses:

J OSEF RUBnARoH, ROBERT W. HEINGARTNER. 

